City near top for tech jobs

Top 10 ranking is just the latest in a recent run of national recognition

Huntsville has been named one of the country's "10 Best Places for Tech Jobs" according to U.S. News & World Report, adding to the list of impressive lists the area has made in the past year.

In an article posted on the magazine's Web page Tuesday, Liz Wolgemuth writes that, while no city is exactly thriving during these times, "within the tech industry, some cities clearly have more job opportunities."

Huntsville is the smallest city on the list, which includes Atlanta, Boston, Houston, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

But the magazine points out that Cummings Research Park - the second largest in the country with more than 225 companies and 23,000 employees - is here, along with the Army's Redstone Arsenal, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and hundreds of aerospace, electronic and other high-tech companies.

"I think this is another example of Huntsville's strength as a community," Mayor Tommy Battle said. "Huntsville receives so many accolades that it's often easy to forget how much work it takes and how many people pull together to tell our story."

In July, Battle appeared on the Fox Business Network to talk about the national recognition the Rocket City has recently received. He said Tuesday that the city is obviously proud to be on this tech-related "10 Best" list.

"Technology always has and always will be one of the factors that separates our community from others, and this recognition clearly illustrates that," he said. "Technology is ever changing - ever improving and always advancing - and those same things can be said about Huntsville."

"Huntsville is no longer America's best-kept secret, and we have our technical community to thank for that," said U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville.

"North Alabama is synonymous with determination and commitment to a job well done, and that shows with every passing day in the Tennessee Valley."

This latest ranking is yet another sign that word is getting around about Huntsville being a great place to work and live, said Rick Davis, director of Cummings Research Park for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

"The recent run of recognition by all these publications shows they now understand what we who live here have always known: This is a tremendously vibrant community with a huge core of smart people doing extraordinary things in technology-related industries," he said.

That certainly includes Redstone, he said, where you are more likely to see high-tech research, design, engineering and testing than soldiers and munitions.

"I've always thought that ought to be called 'Redstone Research Park,' " Davis said.

The area attracts great people to the work, and then they share their intellectual capital to make Huntsville an even finer place for recreation and other activities.

"It's not just about technology," Davis said. "It's about 'quality of place' as well as 'quality of life.' "

Among the other lists the area has recently appeared on:

Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine named Huntsville one of the "10 Best Cities of 2009."

Forbes magazine in 2008 named Madison County the country's top place to weather an economic downturn.

U.S. News & World Report recently named the city of Madison No. 2 in a list of "Best Places to Grow Up."

CNN/Money magazine ranked Madison No. 49 out of the Top 100 small cities.